Extreme Weather

Extreme Weather book cover — KIDS WEATHER NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME SURVIVING TORNADOES SANDSTORMS HAILSTORMS ELIZZARDS HURRICANES AND MORE THOMAS M KOSTIGEN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WASHINGTON D C

Extreme Weather — page 1 — INTRODUCTION AS A JOURNALIST I have traveled all around the world exploring the environment from the Arctic Circle to the Amazon rain forest to the deserts of the Middle East and Africa to remote islands in the Pacific Ocean There is one thing all of these places have in common extreme weather But guess what You are likely experiencing extreme weather wherever you live too I wrote this book to help you understand why the weather is changing and what you can do to stay safe when it does In this book we'll look at weather which is what's happening in our atmos phere with pressure heat cold wind and moisture We'll also look at climate which is the pattern of weather over a long period of time And we'll talk about how global warming is making our climate change When global temperatures rise and warm the planet the weather changes It is because of this rise that we see more heat waves droughts and wildfires The change in temperatures also affects thunderstorms and rain patterns and the way the wind blows As Earth tries to balance these warm temperatures some parts of the planet can get really cold as well Seems crazy right Well it is The science behind extreme weather and climate change can be complicated

Extreme Weather — page 2 — To try to sum it up simply The overall temperature of our planet depends on how much heat is absorbed from the sun and how much Earth sends as energy back into space If all the sun's rays returned to outer space Earth would be too cold a place for us to live Certain gases in Earth's atmosphere absorb the heat of the sun and keep it here Those gases are called greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases have always been released by most living things such as plants trees when they die animals humans as they breathe out and even nonliving things such as volcanic eruptions But scientists are convinced that we humans are creating additional greenhouse gas from pollution such as the exhaust fumes from cars and the smoke from chimneys These extra gases heat the planet up too which causes changes of all kinds in the environment and the weather Today we are seeing parts of the world that once experienced droughts get flooded and areas that were once very hot are colder Scientists are studying these environmental changes to find out what is causing them Most scientists agree that we are affecting climate change with the pollution we are putting in the air Meanwhile we have to live with extreme weather So what to do Aha That is what this book explains Hopefully you will use this book to understand why the weather is changing and what you can do to prepare for it Another important part of this book is safety After all it's one thing to learn why the weather is getting extreme but it's another to actually know what to do when extreme weather strikes You'll find out what to do in all types of circumstances when it gets really hot or really cold when there are droughts floods or wildfires when a tornado hits or a thunderstorm begins or when a blizzard comes and there are whiteouts You'll even see what you can do after a storm passes and the weather goes back to normal I've tried to give you both the knowledge and the tools you'll need when the weather turns against you It is my hope that you won't just read this book but that you'll also use the tips from this book if you are ever caught in extreme weather Thomas M Kostigen

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